


That Is My Cat

by LoveThemFiercely



Series: Drabbles and Prompts [5]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: Cats, F/M, Picnics, Reylo - Freeform, Tea Shop, Woodworking Shop
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-13
Updated: 2018-12-13
Packaged: 2019-09-17 16:51:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 775
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16978353
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LoveThemFiercely/pseuds/LoveThemFiercely
Summary: First sentence prompt:   "Excuse me but that 'stray cat' you're trying to 'adopt'? Is my pet."





	That Is My Cat

"Excuse me but that 'stray cat' you're trying to 'adopt'? Is my pet." Rey stood in front of the plastic sheeting hanging from the walls of the shop; one hand on her hip, the other holding the basket.

It wasn’t her cat. But she desperately wanted it to be. Rey had been trying to lure her into the tea shop for *ages*; she’d even served salmon chowder as her soup for a solid week, in hopes the scraps of fish would make a nice bait.

And then on her way into work today, she’d seen Oolong (that’s what she’d decided to name the cat, Oolong) in the plate-glass window of the shop next door. It had been empty for a while, until the SOLD sign had appeared last month. 

Ever since, there had been hammering, and the sound of power tools, and cords sort of hanging everywhere, and this plastic sheeting; not exactly a great ambience, but everyone had to start somewhere.

But dammit, Oolong was supposed to be *her* cat; so she’d come bearing bravado, and bribes. Rey was loaded for bear; this basket, if she did say so herself, contained only the finest of incentives. She’d loaded it up with tea sandwiches (pimento cheese, yum, and the thinly sliced cucumber ones), scones, lemon curd, and a steaming pot of lavender-and-rose Earl Grey, her own blend.

Plates and teacups and silverware, in case whoever owned this place wanted to share with someone, and a tiny container of clotted cream completed the picnic. 

She had not been expecting him, though. Oh my goodness. He was a tall drink of water and she felt like she’d been living in a desert all her life. The work gloves, the safety goggles, and the T-shirt and jeans that fit him in all the right places were very, very nice. The shaggy hair, work boots, a coating of sawdust, and a face just shy enough of perfect to make her want to keep looking at it all day; well, those just added to the tally. Just now it felt like the cat in question might have her tongue.

…

She was here. Oh, man. Ben hadn’t gone next door to the tea shop. It wasn't because he didn’t like tea, he was just afraid of acting like an idiot; and he really did need to get this place up and running. Woodworking shops failed every day, and he wanted to make sure his was perfect.

But here she was; hair in a careless knot at the back of her head, yellow sundress, blue apron with the shop’s logo on it (More Than Nothing was a very strange name for a tea shop, he thought), and a fine dusting of flour atop the freckles on her nose. The basket she was holding smelled delicious, and frankly so did she.

Wait, did she say that was *her* cat? He raised an eyebrow. “Well, if that’s your cat, then there’s something you need to know.” He almost wished she hadn’t shown up right now; Ben was sweaty and messy and he was sure he looked ridiculous with the plastic safety glasses pushed up on his head. But he was still glad she was here.

Rey blew out a breath. That was her name, it was right there on her nametag. “Okay, fine, she’s not really my cat. But I want her to be. I’ve been trying to get her to come to me forever with no luck; then today I look up and there she is in your window! Wait, where is she now?”

He put down the drill on the worktable and beckoned for her to follow. “That’s what I mean; I should show you.” He started back toward the office.

…

Rey followed him to the back of the shop. Oh, wow. He’d brought in some of his stock, even though the construction work wasn’t finished yet; and the pieces were *beautiful*. Armoires and tables and chairs and even a cradle were fancifully carved; with leaves and flowers, suns and moons and stars, and all sorts of other wonderful things.

He opened the door to what seemed to be the office. “I don’t think it was me; I mean, I’ve been feeding her too, but I think your shop was closed and I just happened to be here working late when she needed…well, this.” He gestured to the corner of the office. There, in a purpose-built nesting box, was Oolong–and there were five tiny kittens. He’d even carved the sides of the box with little fish swimming in curls of water.

It was the best picnic Rey had ever had.


End file.
